The Officepolitik and Why Dilbert Can Be Sad

Famous for his satirical office comic, Scott Adams mastered the art of making fun of your life.  Unless of course, you work 9-5 and love what you do.  If you fall into that category, you've basically won the lottery.  No, wait...some people who win the lottery still don't love what they do, so you may in fact be doing better than someone who has won the lottery.  I just wanted to emphasize how rare it is. For the rest of the world, we live in what I call the 'officepolitik'.

Realpolitik, if you've ever heard of it, refers to "politics based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations" (source)

Officepolitik then, refers to politics based primarily on the pragmatic 'real-world' office culture that defines so many people's lives - whether personal or public, local or global.


So, why do you care?  Maybe you don't...but maybe you should. Your work-life shapes everything you do.  Even if you're not paying attention.  Even if you're not trying.  Even if you don't care.  It's busy shaping who you are.  That's why we often call it 'work-life'.  Or worse, the evil sister of work-life known as 'work-life-balance'!

Which leads to my next point, why are Dilbert cartoons so funny?  They are funny because they are frighteningly accurate.  But that's not really funny - not in the real sense of the word.  That's funny, as in "That's funny, I didn't know you could get electrocuted by standing in water and putting your hand in an electrical socket" (Limited Liability Disclaimer: Don't try that at home kids).  Dilbert might be funny because you are so defeated in your 'work-life-balance' that all that is left to do is laugh.

Dilbert's hilarious office scenarios shouldn't be quite so accurate.  Just the other night I had people in tears (from laughter) because I so accurately described their work-day and work-year scenarios.  I was mildly proud but for some reason I had an awkward sense of sadness.  There's nothing funny about a company that's wasteful,  where management is disassociated with the staff, where employees that fail are constantly promoted and employees that are valuable are never recognized.  That shouldn't be one of those "It's funny cuz it's true" reality checks. Unfortunately, this is the case for many companies across the globe.

Let me also clearly state that I'm not some unrealistic hippy who thinks we should just quit our jobs run through flowery fields all day.  Life is up and down and so is work.  I get it.  I more than get it.

To clarify further, I've attached some questions you can ask yourself.  These will help identify whether or not your work-life is a joke:

1. Does your company spend thousands, if not millions, on new projects? Then take years to implement them? Only to have the project loathed and despised by the employees.
2. Does each employee at your organization think they work harder than everyone else?  (Aside from being a mathematical impossibility, it's psychologically significant)
3. Do you reflect on the good times of days past?
4. Have you experienced bullying or harassment in the workplace?  And worse, have you seen it happen without any recourse?
5. Do you find solace and comfort when reading Dilbert?  That is, instead of having a chuckle at a funny comic, or better yet having a hearty laugh once a day with your 'team'?

If you answered yes to one or more of those questions, it's time for change.  I'm not at all critiquing Dilbert. In fact, nothing I'm writing about has anything to do with the comics you read.  It's about your life.  That's not a laughing matter when the joke's on you.